Additional Shem Creek Boat Landing parking excites local business owners

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - With the city purchasing a new plot of land near the Shem Creek Boat Landing, nearby businesses owners hope the additional parking will help traffic.

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission spent $1.9 million on a 0.53-acre property that will extend parking.

Many popular bars, restaurants, and stores located nearby often see overflow from the boat landing into their parking lots.

Shannon Gallo, Owner of Oyster Candle Company and Coastal Gifts, located near the Shem Creek Boat Landing shares it would be nice to have more parking opportunities available.

“There’re so many boaters in the area that take up other spaces for people that want to shop and whatnot,” Gallo says. “There should be something for them and something for us, especially with the restaurants around here and as much as it’s growing, they should definitely have more opportunities to get patrons in there.”

The purchase includes two lots adjacent to the boat landing on Simmons Street. Initial planning for the parking expansion is already underway, according to a news release.

Local bar, Saltwater Cowboys, has the largest parking lot on Shem Creek, but is still constantly overflowing, according to Michael Brown, Operations and Employee Relations Employee at Saltwater Cowboys.

“It’s going to be exciting to have people come here and have more of an opportunity to get parking so that they don’t have to worry about that frustration, especially when you’re hungry and you’re sitting here for an hour searching for parking,” Brown says.

Gallo hopes that additional parking will entice more visitors to explore the area.

“If people know that there’s more parking options down here, then they’ll be more willing to come down and frequent area more often,” she says.

The boat landing will also undergo previously scheduled accessibility and drainage improvements, and the existing parking lot will be repaved this winter.

“I just think overall it’s going to be a really good thing. It’s been an issue since I’ve worked here for the past few years; and it’s definitely been an issue as far as people rolling in and going into the neighborhoods behind us and telling us all the time that ‘we need more parking,’ and we have the biggest parking lot in the area,” Brown says. “This is going to be an added plus for us.”

The city says the additional parking lot will be repaved this winter.

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